Icelandair's Northern Lights Boeing 757 Lives On as 20,000 Collectable Keyrings

Icelandair's Northern Lights Boeing 757, Hekla Aurora, has been given new life after its retirement from service. The aircraft, which operated across Europe and North America as a flying billboard for Iceland, was dismantled and transformed into more than 20,000 collectable keyrings by German manufacturer Aviationtag.

The Hekla Aurora, famous for its aurora-inspired exterior and cabin mood lighting, first joined Icelandair in 2004 and received its striking livery in 2014. After its final scenic farewell flight in October 2025, the aircraft was transferred to Lleida, Spain, where Aviationtag's team worked in extreme heat to carefully remove sections of the painted skin for repurposing.

The metal was then shipped to Cologne to be sorted, polished, cut and engraved into individual tags, each preserving a piece of the aircraft's distinctive Northern Lights artwork. Initial batches sold out within hours, but Aviationtag says new pieces are being added daily as production continues.